


Oil on Canvas

by CrowTrinkets



Category: Last Legacy (Visual Novel)
Genre: F/M, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-12 20:40:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29141649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrowTrinkets/pseuds/CrowTrinkets
Summary: MC is looking for a book to read in Felix's office and stumbles upon an art history textbook from Earth. They show Felix some pieces for a change of pace.
Relationships: Anisa/Felix/Sage Lesath/You, Felix/Gender Neutral Reader, Felix/Reader
Comments: 4
Kudos: 15





	Oil on Canvas

**Author's Note:**

> This is v self-indulgent because I'm an art history major, but I hope you all like it :) The textbook in this fic is a real curriculum btw, I modeled the one in here after the textbook my dad used in college.
> 
> Warning: Mention of suicide (Van Gogh)

My fingers brush against the seemingly endless spines of books on the shelf that dwarfs my height. Felix said I could pick a book for a bit of "pleasure reading" rather than reading another magical tome. I guess it's as good as I can get being that tv doesn’t exist here. Many of the books are in languages I don't understand, some I can read but they're all about history, botany, or necromancy. I don't really want to learn anymore, my brain is too full. I hear the door open behind me, it must be Felix. I've looked over dozens of books and have yet to find one I like, maybe I could ask Felix to recommend me. Or I can simply give up and go on my hundredth walk since I have been at Mournfall. 

"Hello MC, have you found a book that has piqued your interest?" By the sound of his voice, it sounds like Felix is across the room, I can hear him lift the kettle, he must be making tea.

"No not yet, honestly most of these sound boring, I shouldn't judge a book by its cover but…. I want to read for entertainment, not for learning," I hear Felix mock a gasp. Before I can comment however my eyes stop on a book title that looks, familiar. Gardner's Art Through the Ages 9th Edition. Wait I know this book, well not this edition, but I recognize the name. I pull out the large green book, its spine is cracked and it looks well used.

"Felix, where did you get an Earth college textbook?" I look over to Felix who is now sitting on the couch taking a sip of his tea. He lifts his brows in confusion.

"Earth textbook? Can I see that?" He places his tea on a nearby table as I settle down next to him, handing him the book. He opens it and flips through a few of the pages, confusion settling in his brows. "I can't say I've seen this before, you said it's an Earth book?" I nod. "Well it must be Anisa's, it has a very used look to it, so I must have thought it was mine, I should return this to her," 

"Oh," It comes out a little more disappointed than I mean it too. Felix looks at me for a second, his eyebrows raising.

"Unless you want to read it? I'm sure Anisa wouldn't mind if you borrowed it, I mean it's been in here for gods know how long," Felix holds the book out for me, a smile crawls across my face and I take it with a nod. Getting comfortable I open the book and look at the table of contents. Stone age, Near Eastern Art, Egypt, Mycenaean, Greece, Medieval, Renaissance, Gothic, Asian, Africa. Oh wow, this book as it all. It must be old though, there's no mention of any 21st-century artists. I continue to flip through the pages until I find a specific piece. Van Eyck's Arnolfini Portrait. It's small but big enough to see the finer details. From the corner of my eye, I can see Felix trying to act inconspicuously, he's observing me, trying to pretend he's reading. I turn my gaze up towards him, he jumps a little and flushes the moment he realizes he's been caught. He opens his mouth to speak but I interrupt.

"Felix, would you like to see?" I angle to book slightly towards him, to which he responds with a short nod. I scoot closer to him and open the book so it is fully open, sitting in between our laps. "This is an art history textbook, it's full of famous art and artist's on Earth, I honestly was surprised to see this here,"

"Wait, I thought you wanted to be entertained, why are you then reading a history book?" Felix gives me a smug smile. I flush slightly.

"I-I.. Well, I love art history, I'm actually studying it at my college, although I can't really participate in classes when I'm not even on Earth," I let out an awkward laugh. I would kill to be back on earth in another art museum, I find the most joy looking at old pieces of art. Felix winces slightly.

"I am sorry, for me to take you away from your studies is quite the crime in my book," He runs a hand through his hair avoiding eye contact.

"I thought you hated your school Felix," I tease trying to lighten up the atmosphere. 

"Ah yes, but I enjoy studying the subjects I find fascinating," I nod in agreement. I fiddle with the corner of the page gently, reminiscing about the many lectures I attended. "Why don't you show me some of your favorite pieces? Then for once, I can learn from you?" Felix finally meets my eyes. I can feel the excitement swell in me. I nod quickly.

"Yes! Ok umm, let me think, oh gosh there's thousands of years of art I can think of, give me a second," I wrack my brain for some pieces I think Felix would find interesting. "There's umm- No that one probably won't be in here… Well maybe I could, no uhhhh- Ahah!" an idea strikes me and I start to gently but quickly flip through the pages until I find it.

"The Birth of Venus!" I plant the relatively heavy book into Felix's lap to which he responds with an "OOF", my excitement got the best of me, but I still ignore it. Felix leans forward and examines the image, without looking up he speaks.

"Why is she unclothed?"

"Well I don't know about Astraea but on Earth people are born naked," I remark. Felix gives me an exasperated look. 

"Fine yes, but that is a fully grown woman, and is she standing on a seashell?" he points to the bottom of the painting. I nod.

"Yep, it's a depiction of the Greek turned Roman mythology. To break it down basically her father was castrated by his father, and his well, stuff was thrown into the ocean. Then it turned into seafoam as it was fertilized and from the foam came Venus, and she was pushed along the sea in her giant seashell." Felix's expression has turned, puzzled, to say the least.

"She was born out of castrated remains… and seafoam." Felix deadpans. I give him a shrug.

"The piece is beautiful though… Uhh let me find something else," I take the book back and flip through, maybe something less…. Mythological would be a better idea. As I peruse the pages I feel Felix mumble "gods" when I pass an image of Saturn Devouring his Son, a topic for another day. I stop on a piece I haven't seen before, but it's a little more tame for Felix's taste I hope.

"Um, this piece is called Mr. and Mrs. Andrews, by Thomas Gainsborough. The painting depicts a couple, the woman is in a large blue dress and is seated on a bench. The man casually leans on the bench and carries a gun while a dog stands at his side. In the background, there are fields and some rolling hills. There is not much info on the piece but I can deduct a little of its subject. "This is probably a wedding commemoration, usually rich couples would have a painting done of them on their wedding day so they could remember it fondly. But this piece is also a landscape image which usually wasn’t done," this one seems to pique Felix's interest.

"Amazing, and do people do this often of Earth?" He seems genuinely interested, it makes my heart flutter a little seeing Felix like this.

"Um not really, even then only rich people could pay for something like this. People just take pictures, but if you were really rich and had the time you probably could get something like this done on Earth in modern-day," I don’t think I've really heard of people still getting portraits like this done. It is a fun concept though.

"I can understand that, my father has forced me to be the subject of many portraits," Felix scoffs. I stifle my chuckle, I almost forget Felix comes from a wealthy family.

"Ok, I definitely have to see some of those," I tease. Felix blushes, his eyes going wide.

"Enough about me, w-why don’t we look for more of your favorites, trust me you do not want to see my portraits," he avoids my eyes, scowling at nothing in particular in the corner of the room, I decide not to press the teasing further and I go to find another artist. I scan the pages until I find it.

"This is Vincent Van Gogh, he's one of my favorites and this is his piece Sunflowers," The image is large, it's brilliant yellows practically reflect off the page. Felix's eyes go wide with wonder when he turns his attention towards the piece. He traces his finger around the flowers, circling each one.

"This painting practically exudes joy," he whispers, I try not to wince at his comment.

"Yea it does…" I trail off.

"You said he's one of your favorites?" he looks at me, "Ah, may I?" Felix hovers his hands over the book, I nod slowly. He gently takes the book from my lap and puts it in his own so he can read the text, talking about Van Gogh and his life. After a minute his face grows sour, his eyebrows furrowing and a frown begins to form.

"He uh… he killed himself," it wasn't a question. I let out a sigh.

"Yea, he did," we both sit in silence for a minute and look solemnly at the book. I twiddle my thumbs, trying to distract from the drastic change of mood. Felix starts.

"Why don't you tell me.... Why he's your favorite?" He hands the book back to me. I'm almost caught off guard by Felix's sudden interest.

"Oh! Well um, his technique is very interesting to me, he follows more of a postimpressionist style, which is why his lines and subjects are a little blurry. His use of color is also what really draws me to his work. Especially the way he depicts flowers. It's kind of poetic," a small smile forms on my lips. I turn the page and low and behold his painting Iris's is on it. Felix lets out a gasp as he leans in to get a better look. For a moment we just stare in awe at the piece, but eventually, I catch myself staring at Felix instead, he's so enamored with this piece it's almost a crime not to stare at his cute expression. He suddenly turns to me, jumping back. We both flush an equal amount of red.

"Uhh d-do you wanna see some architecture?" I stutter out.

"Um, yes- that would be interesting," Felix says, hiding his blush behind his hand.

I turn the pages until I find a few images of Greek temples, I explain to Felix that some of these buildings can be over a hundred feet tall. He almost doesn’t believe me. It then takes over an hour of arguing to explain to Felix that no magic was involved whatsoever in the building of the Greek temples. "But there is no possible way humans were able to lift such large pieces of marble on their own!" he argued. I had to explain that they had tools but he is still skeptical in the end. For the rest of the day, I show Felix more pieces and try my best to explain them, thankfully it's a textbook so if I forget something I just read the excerpts to him. Felix seems to enjoy hearing me talk about my interests and it makes me happy that he's willing to listen. Even if he doesn't believe that pyramids or temples were built just with human hands and tools.


End file.
